Second Chances
by Misc. Ink
Summary: Ichigo has had a hard life, but he finds hope and comfort in the form of a little girl named Nel. But when he encounters a dangerous blue-haired man, his complicated life becomes even more out-of-control. Will this man be able to heal Ichigo's sorrowful heart? AU, OOC, swearing, yaoi in later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: This is my first ever fanfiction, and I hope to make many more. I would like to dedicate this story to ShadowThorne, as her "Monsters and Men" was the first fanfiction I had ever read, and she introduced me to the wonderful world of Grimmjow x Ichigo :) I am still trying to find my writing style, and I know this chapter is pretty long. That is because this is the prologue to my story, and is the set-up that will lead into the following chapters. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only own the story, and do not make any money from it.**

**Warnings: AU, OOC, swearing, violence, and yaoi in later chapters.**

**XOXOXOXO**

The sun was just breaking over the horizon, casting the world in a warm golden and pink-hued light. Birds were starting to sing their sweet melodies after their night of slumber. Dew clung to the green grass that was still undisturbed, and tree leaves swayed softly in the cool morning breeze.

This splendid morning, however, was lost to a lone soul that was currently making his way home. Old sneakers scuffed against the pavement as the individual made his way through the still quiet streets towards his destination. Tattered and worn blue jeans hung off lean and muscular legs, toned from past fights and constant walking due to lack of transportation. A form-fitting black t-shirt sat snuggly against an equally well-toned, tan chest, with a light grey zip-up hoodie hanging loosely off slim shoulders. Slender and slightly rough hands were shoved deep into the hoodie pockets as their owner trekked on.

As one hand came up to run through unruly orange locks, the young man let out a soft sigh. Ichigo's night had been a long one, as they always seemed to be nowadays, and he had ended up sleeping at Urahara's yet again. He hated feeling like he was putting the man out, or like he was relying too much on his friend's good nature. He was hard pressed to take help from the man, or anyone else for that matter, but he really couldn't argue. There just wasn't much else he could do in his situation. It wasn't like he could rely on his family for support or comfort. They weren't around anymore.

At that thought, Ichigo sighed yet again, but this one accompanied a twinge of heartache.

Ichigo no longer had a family. His mother had died from breast cancer when he was nine years old, and that had been hard enough. Afterwards, trying to keep a goof-ball dad in line while caring for his younger sisters had been hard, especially while trying to do well in school and stay out of fights (which never lasted long, as no one seemed to be able to leave him alone because of his scowl and bright-ass hair).

His father had run a small local clinic, and allowed for the family's necessities, but not much else. Ichigo had gotten a paper route at thirteen so he could help support his small family and try to give his sisters some of the nicer things he knew they wanted, but would never ask for. Life hadn't been perfect back then, but he had been happy with what he had.

Sadness flashed in Ichigo's chocolate brown eyes as a deep frown made its way onto his face. He paused in his trek homeward, shaking his head so as to clear the dark memories away, then continued onward. There was no use in thinking about it, not after all this time. His heart couldn't seem to stop affecting his brain, however, as he always came back to these thoughts eventually. He would never forget the day he lost them.

XOXOXOXO

_"Come on, Ichigo, we have a whole other week until finals, and we've been studying for the past two! Can't you wait until after dinner to pull out the fucking textbooks?"_

_Ichigo rolled his eyes at his friend's whining, opening his Algebra book to the page he had bookmarked before coming over. "Suck it up, Renji. In another week, we won't have to do this anymore, and then we can do whatever you want. Until then, stop complaining. You're the one that wanted help with studying in the first place, so shut up and deal with it, unless you want me to leave."_

_Renji whined and muttered softly, but pulled out his copy of the book none-the-less. Digging into his backpack, he withdrew his pencil and notebook to take notes on how to solve the equations, and set his stuff up on the low table beside Ichigo._

_Renji had been Ichigo's best friend since the cradle, after Urahara had adopted him six months after Ichigo was born. Urahara had supposedly proclaimed to his father, Isshin Kurosaki, that after holding baby Ichigo in his arms, he had to have one of his own - which was a bit difficult since he was a gay man. Urahara found a way though, and adopted his very own screaming, blazing red-headed baby boy._

_Kisuke Urahara had been Isshin's best friend since middle school, and was almost as over-zealous and crazy as him. Maybe that's why they got along so well together. Isshin had gone to medical school and opened up his own clinic, while Urahara went to work straight out of high school and took over his father's candy shop. _

_After they had their first kids - and only kid, for Urahara - they spent much of their time together, toting along their fiery-haired sons. Then came Karin and Yuzu, Ichigo's twin sisters, and Urahara was often found coming over to the Kurosaki residence to lend a hand babysitting the small brood. Urahara was there for them when Masaki, Ichigo's mother, was diagnosed and undergoing treatment, and still there after she passed away. The bond between the two families had only grown stronger._

_Because of this, the orangette respected and trusted the blonde. He had always been there when he and his family needed something, and never asked for anything in return. He was a true friend to all of them._

_Renji opened up his notebook and turned to his last page of notes, looking over what page Ichigo was currently looking at and marking it off so he could remember the page for reference._

_Before they could begin work on the equations, however, their heads snapped up to the sound of thundering footsteps before the bedroom door was slammed open. The two jumped slightly from the force of the door smashing into the wall behind it, revealing a knob-sized hole as it bounced back slightly. Burnt sienna and deep crimson eyes meet grey ones as they looked upon a clearly stricken Urahara._

_The shaggy haired blonde man was breathing heavily, as though he had just run a marathon, his left hand still held outward from throwing the door open, while in his right his cell phone was grasped in a white-knuckle hold. His body was shaking visibly beneath his loose khaki pants and olive green tee, his bare feet seeming to be glued to the spot outside the room. His normally fair skin was drained of color, his stormy grey eyes unfocused and glistening with unshed tears._

_Something had to be terribly wrong for the normally carefree man to look this way._

_The tense atmosphere filled with only Urahara's soft pants was broken by Renji's hesitant cough._

_"Um, dad? Are you ok?" he ventured softly._

_The blonde blinked a few times, then looked at Renji and his vision seemed to focus. Then his eyes snapped to Ichigo, making the orange-haired youth cringe from the amount of pain he saw reflected there. What the hell had happened to make the man look this way?_

_Just as the thought crossed his mind, Urahara dropped his phone and dove at the boy before he even knew what happened, his face buried in the boy's neck as strong arms wrapped around him tightly. A moment passed before the blonde began to sob brokenly, clutching onto Ichigo as if to stop himself from breaking into a million pieces. Ichigo shot Renji a fearful glace, receiving an equally worried one in return._

_"Dad? Hey, what's going on? What's the matter?" Renji tried again._

_This time, Urahara shook his head fervently and buried his face further into Ichigo's neck. Muffled gasps and hiccups escaped him before he calmed down enough to talk, pulling his head away from Ichigo only enough to be heard clearly._

_"I-I'm s-so…so sor-ry…*hic* Ichigo…*sniffle* Oh g-god, I can't. I c-can't," with that the man broke off again into heartbreaking sobs._

_Ichigo wasn't sure what to do, or why Urahara was apologizing to him. He couldn't fathom what would make him act this way, what would cause him to fall apart so completely._

_"Urahara…" Ichigo said softly, rubbing the man's back gently._

_At that, Urahara's head snapped up, revealing his red and puffy eyes, tears streaking down his unusually pale face. His mouth opened and closed several times, sorrowful orbs locked onto Ichigo's warm and concerned ones. After several deep breaths and another choked sob, Urahara spoke again._

_"Ichigo…"the man started, eyes welling with fresh tears due to the gravity of what he was about to say. "Y-your father…and your sisters…"_

_Ichigo's hands curled tightly into the man's shirt then, his heart going crazy at the mention of his family. Oh god, no._

_"I-I'm so sorry, Ichigo. I just got the call…they n-never made it to the conference. T-they…they're…" a ragged sob cut Urahara off again, his arms tightening further around Ichigo as he shoved his head back into the boy's neck._

_"They didn't make it." It was barely above a whisper, but Ichigo heard it. At that moment, he was sure his heart stopped as ice flooded his veins. His breathe hitched, his arms coming up to cling to the back of Urahara's shirt tightly as he stared down at the mass of shaggy blond hair. A strangled breath escaped him before a desperate scream tore from his throat. His eyes burned, his face was wet, and his throat started to feel raw as he felt another pair of arms encircle him._

_It was crushing, the weight on his heart. He felt like his insides were bleeding, his heart fileted open, bleeding and raw and burning. He couldn't breathe through the screaming and debilitating sobs, couldn't see through the seemingly endless tears. He could barely feel the two sets of muscular arms that wrapped around his chest, gripping him in an almost bruising hold. All he knew was the pain, the suffocating and festering pain. Then his world went black._

XOXOXOXO

Ichigo's father had been invited to a medical conference out of town that weekend, and had taken his sisters with him since the conference building was by the beach. Ichigo had opted to stay over at Urahara's so he could hang out with Renji and help him study for finals. When he came to after passing out, Urahara filled him in on what the doctor at the hospital had told him over the phone.

Two hours outside their town of Karakura, an eighteen wheeler had wrecked and caused a fifteen car pile-up. The second car had been theirs. An ambulance had already taken their bodies to Karakura Hospital, but they were long gone. They had died on impact, the force of the collision too much to bear. Apparently, their bodies were so severely wounded they were almost unrecognizable.

Ichigo hadn't cried since his mother's funeral six year prior, but on that day he wept so hard and long he was sure he couldn't have had a drop of water left in him. He had asked if he could see the bodies, but Urahara firmly insisted that was not something he should see, that he had suffered enough. There was no point in torturing himself further.

Urahara had paid for the funeral, having his father and sisters buried alongside his mother in the quiet cemetery. He had grasped his hand firmly, along with Renji's, stone-faced and dry eyed. When Urahara offered for him to live with him and Renji in their apartment, he had respectfully declined. He wanted to work through his grief and try to stand on his own two feet before he sought their help. It had taken him weeks to be able to sleep more than a couple hours at a time in that house, constantly having nightmares or swearing he could hear his deceased family's voices. He had buried himself in schoolwork, and when that wasn't enough to distract him, he went for long walks to nowhere. He never went into his sisters' or father's room. He couldn't bear it then.

Five months came and went, and with school out, Ichigo finally decided to get his shit together. His father had paid off the house years ago, and fortunately he had left a will before his passing. Ichigo closed down the clinic, since he had no intention of going into his father's field of expertise, and he couldn't afford to keep it running. He opened up a savings account to place his inheritance in, though it wasn't a great sum. He crunched the numbers over and over, calculating what he would need to keep his home and life running. He managed to pay for his last years of high school without spending all of his savings, and he learned to live off the bare minimum. Urahara always helped provide for him in the form of home cooked meals and hand-me-downs from Renji, who happened to be a bit bigger in build than him and grew faster. Ichigo mostly cared for himself though, the constant scowl that had adorned his face since his mother's death only growing slightly harder.

With the help of a scholarship, Ichigo managed to get into the local community art college, only having to pay for supplies. With school full-time and two part-time jobs, Ichigo was a very busy and tired nineteen year old.

This brings us back to the present. Ichigo had been woken up not long ago after crashing at Urahara's after work. His night job had him working for Urahara at "The Candy Bar", a recent business created by him and his lover.

"The Candy Bar" was _supposedly_ the mix of the world's two greatest consumables. Candy and alcohol. Urahara's apartment was actually a duplex, the second-floor being the domestic area while the first-floor housed his father's candy store. He had met his current lover, Starrk Coyote, almost two years ago when he had found him sleeping outside his shop door. Urahara claimed it was love at first sight, for him at least. Starrk had to wake up properly first. Anyway, the idea came from an accident when Urahara dropped a lemon sourball in Starrk's lime vodka one evening, who proceeded to drink and eat it. He claimed it tasted better that way, and voilà! "The Candy Bar" was born.

Ichigo couldn't bartend since he wasn't old enough, so he set up and cleaned the dishes and the bar five nights a week. There were nights, more than he cared to admit, when Ichigo would be so tired after working he would pass out on the couch in the living room upstairs. No one ever complained, and Urahara even offered for him to sleep in the guest bedroom, since Renji had moved out to live closer to his college. But Ichigo wouldn't have that. He was determined to start going home more regularly to sleep, even if he did hate walking back so late at night.

Cutting through the park that marked the halfway point between his house and Urahara's, Ichigo started to relax a little while looking at his watch. He still had almost two hours before his first class, which was enough time to take a shower and eat some breakfast before he had to head back out.

Suddenly, Ichigo froze. Swiveling his head around, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as he surveyed the park. He could have sworn he heard something. Taking another minute to listen, he shrugged and started to walk on when the sound reached him again. It was very faint, but it was there. Heading towards the playground area, he covered the distance in long, quick strides. The sound was getting a bit louder from over there, as he searched the slide, jungle-jim, and swings. Looking around, he saw the cement crawl tunnel and crept towards it cautiously. He could clearly hear the sound now, and it sounded like someone was crying.

Crouching down, the orangette peeked into the tunnel and blinked at the little kid he saw there. The child had its knees tucked up to its chest and its hands pressed against its forehead so he couldn't really see the kid's face. A mess of short, sea-foam green hair sat atop its head, and it wore a huge green hoodie and run-down sneakers. He inched into the tunnel on his hands and knees, clearing his throat as he tried to get the crying kid's attention.

"Hey kid?"

A small head whipped around to face him, the edge of a cute face wet with tears and the corner of a wide wheat-grey eye looked fearfully at Ichigo. Well, now he could at least tell it was a girl.

"Hey little girl, are you ok? Are your parents around?" Ichigo asked gently.

The little girl sniffled and shook her head, shaking slightly. Ichigo realized she must be cold from being out here so early. He scooted a bit closer to her, but stopped when he noticed her flinch away and press her small hands harder to her forehead.

Holding his hands out slowly, he tried again. "Hey, I'm not gonna hurt you, ok? I just wanna know if you're alright."

The girl looked at him uncertainly for a moment, before her gaze softened, silent tears still streaking down her face. Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at that, wondering why she was crying. He still could only make out the bit of her face that was facing him and not covered up by her hands and arms.

The girl stared at Ichigo for another moment, hiccuping a few times before anything else came out.

"I-it hurts…h-hurts."

Ichigo blinked stupidly, only half-expecting the girl to say anything. Then realization dawned on him and he leaned forward, looking her over.

"You're hurt? Where? Can you show me?" He couldn't see any cuts or scrapes on her, though she did appear a bit dirty and her hoodie was kind of tattered.

The girl nodded and, ever so slowly, moved her hands away from her face. What Ichigo saw made his eyes widen drastically and draw in a quick breath. How the hell had he not seen that before now?

"Oh…shit…"

After the initial shock wore off, Ichigo regained his senses and launched into action. He fumbled quickly for his phone in his jeans pocket, while moving closer to the girl in front of him. He tried to work fast, but was mindful to not spook her any more than she already was.

He hit his speed-dial #1 as he brought his face close to the girl's. She started to shrink away and hide behind her small hands again when he gently grasped one in his free hand, placing it back down. He locked eyes with her, his flashing with urgency, concern, and a forced calm.

"It's alright, I just want to help you, ok? I need to take a look at your injury. I won't hurt you, I promise. Just let me-" Ichigo cut himself off as his phone connected and an un-necessarily cheery voice rang out on the other end.

"Hello...Urahara?...Damn it, stop babbling and listen to me! I'm in the park with this little girl…Shut up! She's injured…"

As Ichigo spoke he lifted his free hand again to push the girl's hair out of her face. He grimaced at the blood trickling out of the gruesome gash that ran from just above her hairline to slightly right of the end of her nose. Shrugging off his hoodie, maneuvering the phone to do so, he balled it up at best he could and pressed it firmly to the wound.

"…Yes, now get your ass over here with the car so we can get her to the hospital!"

Snapping the phone shut and stuffing it back in his pants, Ichigo reached out to scoop the girl up with one arm while the other kept pressure on her head. She squeaked and wiggled around, trying to get free in her panic. Ichigo clutched her to his chest, shushing in her ear.

"Look, I told you I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke softly. The child sniffled and looked at him with wide, unsure eyes. He was anxious as hell, but he knew that she must be scared and hurting too. With a wound like that, it was a wonder she was even still conscious or not screaming in pain.

With a soft smile, he tried to reassure her again. "I'm not a doctor, but you've hurt your head pretty bad. I have a friend who's coming to get us, and we're going to take you to the hospital, ok? The people there can make the pain go away, but you have to trust me, alright? I won't let anyone hurt you."

The little girl just continued to stare at him, seeming to processing this information. Then for the first time, she really looked at the person that held her. He was warm and, although his grip was firm, he was gentle. He had warm, deep brown eyes that reflected his concern and worry for her, even though she was just some random kid. And his hair. It looked so warm, like the sun.

For the first time in a long time, she smiled. Someone this warm wouldn't hurt her.

Ichigo's heart skipped slightly when he saw the bright smile light up the girl's face. He hadn't seen a smile like that in…what seemed like a lifetime. He returned her smile with one of his own as he carefully scooted them out of the crawl tunnel, and lifted himself to his full height. He was surprised when a small hand clutched onto his shirt as he walked out of the park. Looking down, he saw the little kid staring at him.

"Um…" Ichigo wasn't really sure what to say now, since she seemed to trust him for now. He really wished Urahara would get here, for more than one reason. A soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

"A-are you…gonna stay with Nel?"

Confused, Ichigo tried to understand what she was asking. Realization dawning on him, he checked to make sure.

"Are you Nel?"

A small nod answered him.

He smiled again. "Then yes, I'm gonna stay with you, Nel. By the way, I'm Ichigo."

The girl's face was blank for a moment, before it lit up in another heart-clenching smile. Damn, this kid was gonna kill him. Her hand twisted further into his shirt, before her eyes started to droop. Stepping onto the curb, Ichigo looked up to see Urahara speeding down the empty road towards them. Feeling the body in his arms go slack, he looked down in worry.

"Hey, you alright?" his voice a bit panicked.

A soft smile still played on her lips even as her body and mind started to grow heavy and fuzzy. One last whispered response left her before unconsciousness claimed her tired body.

"Yes, Nel is ok. Nel has Itsygo."

XOXOXOXO

"Ichigo?"

The orangette turned his head to look at Urahara, who was sitting next to him outside the counselor's office. The man was dressed in an olive-green suit with a black dress shirt underneath. Ichigo himself was dressed in a similar fashion, in black slacks and a white dress shirt. He had to look nice when meeting with this woman, since he had to make the best impression he could on her.

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" The older man asked in concern. "You seem pretty tense. I know we've talked about this, but are you absolutely sure you wanna go through with it?"

The teen didn't even have to waste a moment to know his answer. "Yes. This is what I want. I'm sure of it."

At that, he looked at the small girl sitting between him and his blonde guardian. Nel smiled up at him, the gaps where her teeth had yet to grow in endearing to him. He wanted to see that smile from now on.

Three months had passed since that fateful morning in the park. Ichigo and Urahara had rushed the girl called Nel to the hospital, where she was admitted into pediatrics. While she was undergoing treatment, Ichigo called the local police and filed a report on how he had come across the girl. By the time he was done being questioned, a nurse had allowed him to see the small child.

Her head injury had cut through the tissue on her skull, but thankfully had not sliced through the bone. Since the cut was so deep and long, she had needed stitches to close the wound. They had later find out that Nel's father had been the one to cut her during a drug-induced high. He had died the same day Ichigo had found her due to an overdose. Her mother had died during childbirth, and it seemed she had no other living relatives.

After the toddler had been discharged, a foster home had taken her in while they waited for someone to adopt her. Even with college classes and work, Ichigo always visited her whenever he had the chance. Luckily, the owners of the foster home allowed him to, though he probably would have found a way even if they hadn't. He had come to love that little girl.

This is exactly why he was there today. Ichigo Kurosaki, age nineteen, was going to adopt Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck (apparently her father had been German). Well…he was going to try at least. How many teenage boys with bright-ass hair try to adopt three year old girls with no other family? He was guessing not many.

Hell, it had taken him what seemed like forever just to get someone on the phone at this stupid agency to actually talk to him. First, it was the never-ending game of phone-tag, and then every person he talked to didn't seem to understand what he was trying to do. He was calling an adoption agency for Christ's sake, so logically, he wanted to adopt someone!

_Finally_, he had gotten ahold of some woman named Yoruichi Shihōin. She had introduced herself as an adoption counselor at the agency, and after hearing his objective, had told him to meet with her. That was, after sending her a crap load of personal paperwork and documents, so she could do a background check and make sure he wasn't some loony.

So now here he sat, outside of her office, waiting with Urahara and Nelliel. Urahara was there for emotional support and as a voucher for his character, and Nel for…obvious reasons.

Ichigo was snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening, and a tall woman stepped out. She had mocha skin, hidden mostly by a black pinstriped blazer and pencil-skirt, with a black blouse underneath. Glossy black pumps finished off her outfit, while her eggplant locks were pulled back in a high ponytail. Golden, cat-like eyes looked over to focus on him, and she offered a pleasant smile.

"Are you Ichigo Kurosaki?" Her voice was deeper than he would have expected, but it had a sensual quality to it.

He sat up straighter and nodded. "Yes, that's me."

She nodded back. "Alright. Well, why don't you step into my office and we can get down to business." She held the door open for him and gestured inside.

Taking a silent deep breath, Ichigo stood and glanced one last time at the people he had come here with. Urahara smiled softly at him and nodded, while Nel just looked curious about what was going on. With that, he stepped into the room, followed instantly by the counselor.

The office space was nice, very organized and clean. A medium-sized wooden desk was positioned towards the back of the room and centered, with a large leather rolling chair behind it. Several files and a computer rested on top of it. To the left were many large metal filing cabinets, and on the right was a bookcase that stretched the length of the wall and touched the ceiling. Hardly any of the shelves had room to squeeze even one more volume of work. In front of the desk were two smaller plush leather chairs. As the woman rounded the desk to take her seat, she gestures to one of the chairs. On cue, Ichigo took his seat and tried to quell his nerves. He really wasn't sure how this was all going to go.

The curvy woman sifted through the files before pulling one from the bottom of the stack. She flipped through it briefly before laying it open on the desk on a particular page. Resting her elbows on the hard wood, she laced her fingers and rested her chin atop them as she leveled Ichigo with a quizzical stare.

"Now, Mr. Kurosaki. I have read through your file and I must say I am impressed. For a young man of your age to go through the hardships you have, and to not be involved in any questionable activities or become a complete introvert is quite amazing."

At the mention of his 'hardships,' Ichigo flinched internally. He still didn't like to talk about that.

"Not many people would have been able to function as well as you have been able to, let alone keeping such good grades and entering college," Yoruichi continued. "Now, I must ask." She leaned forward slightly, seeming to search the teenager's soul with her molten eyes. "Why would a young man just starting college, with more than enough on his plate, seek to adopt a little girl who isn't even old enough to attend kindergarten?"

The orangette breathed a soft sigh. He had been expecting something like this.

"Ms. Shihōin, I think a lot of people wonder that. Heck, I would wonder that too if it was someone else in this situation. And believe me, I have thought long and hard about this decision, and I tried to be rational about what I could really do for Nel."

He paused and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck (a nervous habit he had). "I know that raising her would be hard, and I know there are a lot of things I would need to learn and change to adapt to her living with me. But, as you know, I did have…" He had to mentally shake himself here, "younger sisters, and my father was a doctor. I would be able to take care of her health and I know how little girls can be. I may not be able to put her up in a mansion, but I can provide for her and give her a good life. And most of all…" a soft smile crossed his lips, making Yoruichi quirk a brow in interest. "I have bonded with Nelliel. She's sweet, and funny, and she always talks about silly things. But she can be very insightful and caring, and she picks things up quickly."

Ichigo meet Yoruichi's eyes straight on, his chocolate orbs hard with determination and resolve. "She's given me something I haven't truly had in a long time and…I want to keep her around. I want to be her guardian, her protector. I want to adopt her."

Yoruichi stared thoughtfully at the teen in front of her. It would seem that Mr. Urahara had been accurate in his description over the phone about this young man, although he should be, considering the relation. Ichigo was indeed a passionate, caring, and straight-forward individual. She did not sense any deceit or ill-intent from the boy, and if she were to be completely honest, she was rooting for this kid to prove her agency wrong and be a damn great parent for this little girl. No one else in the building had wanted to touch this case, but when Yoruichi had gotten wind of it, she had been intrigued. Now she could say, without a doubt, that this young man would be a good guardian for Nelliel. However, she still had to cover her bases.

"Mr. Kurosaki, are you sure you want to do this? What will you do about your school work?"

Ichigo allowed a small smirk to cross his face, feeling more at easy not what he had gotten the worst of it out of the way. "It'll be fine. I already talked to my professors, my academic advisor, _and_ the head of the Art Department. As long as I take 12 course hours each semester and keep my grades up, I can keep my scholarship. Luckily, the university offers most of its general studies classes online, so I can bulk up on those classes and work from home until Nel is old enough to go to school. Then I can finish my studio classes during the day while she's at school, and be home with her in the afternoon. By that time, I'll have enough saved up from work to be able to afford a babysitter when I need one, and I also have friends who can help me watch her. I have even talked to my bosses about bringing her to work with me, and both had agreed she can play and hang out in the break room while I work. She'll be close to me, but I can still get my job done."

Ichigo paused, his determined stare back in place. "I want to make this work, and it _can_ work. I want to keep Nelliel, and I will do what I have to in order to take care of her."

The counselor just stared at Ichigo for a moment. She was stunned and rather impressed that this young man had thought about this situation in such detail. Most of the people she worked with on adoption didn't think through all of the things they would have to do in order to support a child, or how they would have to change their lives. Yet here was this boy, in the prime of his life, who was willing to take in this child that he didn't need to care for. She could tell by looking into his eyes that he was determined and serious about this adoption. He would make it work.

She smiled warmly at Ichigo, who relaxed a little at the gesture. "Alright Mr. Kurosaki, I can see how serious you are about this. If you go through with this, there is a lot that you will need to do, but I can assure you I will help you in any way I can. But before we proceed," she gestured to the door, "I would like to ask Nelliel what she wants."

Ichigo instantly nodded and got up from his seat. "Of course, I would never do this if Nel didn't want it herself." Opening the door, he stepped out and looked to the little girl waiting next to Urahara on the bench in the hallway. "Nel."

The little girl looked up at the boy and smiled. "Yes, Itsygo?"

Ichigo smiled down at her, anxious for the conclusion of this meeting. "Can you come here for a second? The counselor would like to talk to you."

Nel got up quickly and fiddled nervously with the hem of her pink play-dress, shuffling into the office ahead of Ichigo. He shut the door and sat down in his chair, and motioned for her to do the same in the one next to him. "It's ok, Nel. She just wants to ask you a question. You're not in trouble. I'm here, ok?"

Nel nodded slightly and looked from Ichigo to the woman behind the desk. "Ok."

Yoruichi smiled softly at the little girl in the chair before her. "Hello Nelliel. I was just having a chat with Ichigo here, and I wanted to ask you what you think of him."

Ichigo was a bit nervous now. He knew Nel liked him, but he didn't know what she really thought of him. What if she didn't really like him that much? What if she just saw him as some stranger who had helped her once and played with her sometimes? What if…she didn't want to stay with him? He hadn't known Nelliel that long, but already he loved her like she was his own. He wanted to care for her, protect her, and give her a family, even if it was just him.

Nel looked from Yoruichi to Ichigo and back. Then she shyly looked down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs. "Nel likes Itsygo. He's nice and funny and his hair to really soft and bright and he makes Nel smile. Nel likes Itsygo's smile too. Itsygo smiles a lot around Nel, and that makes Nel smile more too." At that, she beamed over at Ichigo, who smiled fondly at her in return.

Yoruichi smirked and shook her head softly. "Alright then Nel, I just have one more question for you."

Nel looked over at her curiously, waiting to hear the question.

"Would you like to stay with Ichigo from now on, and live with him?"

Nelliel's eyes widened with shock, her cute mouth agape. She looked quickly from Yoruichi to Ichigo, and back again. "S-stay with I-Itsygo?"

The female counselor nodded. "Yes, would you like to?"

Nel's face went blank for a split second before a huge, heart-breaking grin split across her small face. "Yes! Yes, Nel wants to stay with Itsygo!" She jumped out of her seat and barreled into Ichigo's legs, hugging them tightly and burying her face in his knees. "Nel wants to stay with Itsygo. Can Nel? Can Nel?"

She looked up at Ichigo then, her wide grey eyes brimmed with tears of joy and hope. "Can Nel stay with Itsygo? Forever an' ever?"

Strong, lean arms wrapped around her small body and scooped her up in a tight hug. Ichigo nuzzled her soft aquamarine locks, his own smile plastered onto his handsome face. "Of course you can stay with me, Nel. I'll never let you go."

Yoruichi watched the display with a grin of her own. It had been a long time since she had seen such a pure and happy reaction from an adopted child and their guardian. She cleared her throat and stood up, approaching the two still clinging tightly to one another. "Well then, it's settled. Mr. Kurosaki, looks like you are cleared to begin the adoption process for Nelliel. I can have the papers tomorrow afternoon, and you can come in as soon as you like to start filling them out. Don't forget to bring all your legal documents with you when you do. When would you like to meet with me to get started?"

The orangette looked up at her then, grin never leaving his face. "How about tomorrow? I want to get this done as soon as possible, and start getting Nel settled." He gave the girl a soft squeeze, drawing a happy giggle from the toddler. "I want to be her family."

Yoruichi nodded with a grin. "Alright then, tomorrow at 1 pm it is then. I'll have someone call you later this evening with a list of everything you should bring with you." She held out her hand to the young orangette, shaking it as the two before her beamed in utter happiness and contentment. "It was a pleasure meeting with you Mr. Kurosaki, and I look forward to seeing you more in the future. You are indeed a remarkable young man."

Ichigo couldn't stop smiling if he wanted to. It seemed like a whole lifetime ago that he had been this happy. "Thank you, Ms. Shihōin. Believe me, the pleasure's all mine."


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **First off, I'd like to say how sorry I am this took so long. Almost two months! *faints* Good grief. I had a huge influx of work recently, and it seemed like every time I sat down to write this, someone came up and was all "Hey, hey, what's that? What're ya doing?" -_- So annoying. My love for yaoi and fanfiction is…kind of a secret on my side of the computer screen, so I can only write when I'm alone.

Secondly, thank you so much to those of you that favorited and followed this story! And an extra special thank you to those of you that left me such lovely reviews: GrimmIchiLover, firetrap, IndigoButterfly, llLesGeMeAuxll, Zenzola, and -it-calls-meXX. You guys are great! On a final note, I will be going on vacation this Saturday and I will be gone for a week, no computer or nothing (so I'm not tempted to do any work .), so my next update won't be for at least 2 weeks. Hopefully my next chapter won't take as long to complete as this one did…But anyway, hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I look forward to your reviews and feedback!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only own the story, and do not make any money from it.

**Copyright: **Second Chances © Misc. Ink

**Warnings: **AU, OOC, swearing, violence, and yaoi in later chapters.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Itsygo! Itsygo, wake up!"

Chocolate brown orbs, cloudy from sleep, blinked open slowly, registering the childish, high-pitched voice that had called out to him. The orangette sat up slightly, propping himself up on his elbows as drowsy eyes focused on the little girl next to his bed. Bright and very awake wheat-greys looked up at him expectantly as small hands clutched at the side of the mattress. An excited smile adorned her face while long, wavy, sea-foam hair hung down her back.

Ichigo smirked down at her, rolling onto his side and patting the spot next to him. A happy squeak left the child as she scrambled up onto bed with him, bouncing a little in her enthusiasm. A tan hand sifted through messy tangerine spikes as he glimpsed over at the digital clock on his nightstand. An orange brow quirked before the man turned back to look at the bubbly girl next to him.

"Hey Nel, you're up early today. Usually I'm the one to wake you," he mumbled, still trying to fully wake up. He wasn't that much of a morning person.

Nel had a huge grin plastered on her cute face as she explained. "That's 'cause it's show-and-tell day, Itsygo! I get to bring Kon with me today!"

The young man chuckled at the simple joy that radiated off the child, ruffling her hair fondly. "Oh, I see now. Well, how about we get some breakfast, and then we can pack Kon up for his little adventure today, hm?"

Again Nel beamed up at him. "Ok!"

With that, he scooted to the edge of the bed, picking the toddler up and setting her back down on the floor, allowing her to scamper off ahead of him. Turning down the hall outside his bedroom, the orangette made a stop at the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth before heading downstairs into the kitchen. Nel was waiting for him there, bouncing around in her seat at the table. Ichigo chuckled again as he set about fixing breakfast for both of them.

It has been two years since Ichigo had adopted Nelliel and, although it had been a bit rough in the beginning, both of them had settled into a routine. Ichigo had done just what he had said he would, taking online classes to finish up his first year of college and the second. Over the summers, he had also picked up extra courses, so now he only had one more year of schooling. Ichigo had taken Nel with him when he had worked at the flower shop and Urahara's, who saw her as his "grandchild." This had earned the crazy blonde more than a few head-slaps and verbal assaults.

Nel had adjusted to her new life very well, and Ichigo couldn't have been happier. When she had first moved in with him, it had been a little odd having the three year old around. Before he had set up her own room, the girl had slept with him, cuddling up to him throughout the night. It was almost like having his sisters around again, which had left him with conflicted emotions. It had been hard for him to go into their old room to convert it into Nel's, though he had enlisted the help of Urahara and Starrk. The older men had set aside a weekend to help him sort through the twins' things, re-paint, bring in furniture, and keep Nel occupied so the result would be a surprise.

He'd never forget the way her face lit up as she took in her new space. A small, white twin bed was tucked against the left wall, adorned in soft pink sheets, with a matching dresser at its side. The closet on the right wall had been painted white, along with the ceiling, while the walls were a pale yellow. Ichigo had added a personal touch by painting a flight of pink butterflies that flowed across the wall over her bed; he had learned during her stay at the foster home the girl loved them. Nel had proceeded to squeal in delight and tackle-hug the three males. For days afterwards, she would want to rush home so she could play in her new room, inevitably pulling Ichigo along with her. Not that he minded, of course.

A couple months ago, Nel had started going to kindergarten. She was always excited for school, which was a relief for Ichigo; he didn't know what he'd do if she hated it. Every afternoon she would rattle on about what they learned that day, what she did during recess, and bring home any drawings she had done; he had quite a collection going in his studio.

She even had a friend, a very hyper, pink-haired girl named Yachiru. Ichigo had met her father one day while picking Nelliel up. _That_ had been interesting, to say the least.

Ichigo finished preparing their breakfast, transferring the scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast to each plate, before sitting down to eat with Nel. The wavy-haired child dug in enthusiastically, obviously impatient to get the meal over with so she could play with her favorite toy.

Ichigo couldn't help but chuckle as he took a bite of his toast slathered in blueberry jam. "Nel, you know you're supposed to chew your food, right?"

Bright eyes looked over and up at him, a wide smile showing around her fork and eggs. Finishing off her bite, she started scooping up more food as she talked animatedly to him.

"I know that, Itsygo. But I'm just so excited I get to bring Kon with me today! I get to tell everybody how great Kon is, and I can keep him with me all day! I can take him on the slide, and the monkey bars, and he can eat pudding with me, and then Nel can-"

The young man interrupted her with a light cough, quirking an orange eyebrow.

"Oh…" Nel blushed and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck (a habit she had picked up from her caretaker). "I'm sorry. I meant _I_ can finally show him to Yachiru."

Ichigo nodded and smiled over at her as he started to clear the table of their now empty plates. Nelliel had always referred to herself in the third person, for some unknown reason, when he had first met her. After adopting her, it had been one of the many things he had started to work with her on. It had taken what seemed like forever to break her of the habit, but now it only slipped out when she was very excited or scared. She still didn't say his name properly though, but it was something he didn't mind, and secretly even enjoyed. It was a special name only Nel called him.

After cleaning the plates and setting them in the dishwasher, Ichigo looked over at the table to find Nel was no longer there. Shaking his head, a small smirk on his face, he proceeded to go upstairs and walk down the hall to her room. Sure enough, she was sitting in the middle of her floor, talking to her stuffed lion, Kon, as she tried to carefully fit him into her backpack.

Kon had originally been Ichigo's stuffed animal, given to him by his mother when he was six. He had loved that thing to death, though as he got older, Kon had remained in his sacred place on top of the youth's dresser. When Nelliel had started to live with him, however, that quickly changed.

During one of the first nights at her new home, Nel had caught sight of the plushie lion, and it was love at first sight. _Every_ time she was in Ichigo's room, she would ask if he would take the animal down and let her play with it. At first, he had been hesitant to allow her to do so. It was his favorite and most cherished toy, after all. After several attempts to dissuade her from the idea, he finally relented and let her handle the plushie, but only while he was with her.

She would often just sit with Kon on her lap, gently patting his head or holding him while Ichigo did his homework or chores around the house. She would talk with Ichigo, and then ask Kon for his opinion or approval on things they were talking about. It was a surprise to the young man that she was always so gently with his toy, as he would expect a toddler to be dragging or throwing it around. Nelliel seemed to understand how important the plushie was to the orangette though, which left him in silent awe and appreciation on more than one occasion.

After a year and a half of this, Ichigo came to a decision. On Nel's fifth birthday, he gave the girl Kon. Needless to say, she had been ecstatic, which had led to more of her excited rambling to the party guests in third-person. After that, Kon was hers, but Ichigo did have one rule. She could not take Kon to school with her. He still loved that lion, even though he had happily given him to her, so he just couldn't help but worry about him getting damaged around all those other kids. Last week, however, he had said it was alright if she took the plushie there on show-and-tell day, as everyone else would –hopefully- be preoccupied with their own special items to try playing with hers.

Ichigo was brought out of his thoughts by a bubbly laugh, as Nel had just told a _very_ funny joke, in her opinion, to Kon. From what the man caught of it, it had something to do with a tomato and salad dressing.

Walking over to where she sat in the middle of the room, Ichigo crouched down and gently plucked both Kon and her book bag from her grasp. Chuckling at her indignant pout, he carefully moved her school supplies around so he could tuck the stuffed animal comfortably into the large pouch. A small hand touching his elbow halted him from his task. Ichigo turned curious chocolate orbs to his adopted daughter.

"Itsygo, you have to leave it open so Kon can breathe!" she reprimanded, her eyebrows and lips scrunched up in concern.

"Whoops, sorry Nel. I should have thought of that, huh?" he replied, playing along with her, as he left an inch of space in the zipper, so Kon could 'breathe.'

With an approving nod from the sea foam haired girl, Ichigo handed her back her book bag before getting up to return to his room to get dressed for the day, as he was still in his pajamas. He had seen that Nel was already dressed in a pale blue shirt and a pink skirt; having been so since she had come to wake him up.

Shutting the bedroom door behind him, he quickly changed into a pair of dark blue jeans and a plum colored V-neck tee. Slipping on a pair of socks, Ichigo grabbed up his backpack, checking to make sure he had everything for class that day, and his overnight bag for Urahara's.

Today was Wednesday, so he would be working at the Candy Bar every night until Sunday. On those nights, he and Nel would stay at the older blonde's place, since he got off work so late and both of them had to get up for school the following days. The goofy man didn't mind, of course, though it had taken quite some time for Ichigo to agree to this arrangement. After much protesting and negotiations, Starrk had come up with an agreement both men could be happy with.

On nights that Ichigo worked the bar, he would bring clothes and other necessities for himself and Nel and sleep at their apartment. The orangette's shift didn't end until 2 a.m., so it really was just common sense. Then, since Ichigo was adamant about still living in his childhood home and not free-loading at the couple's residence, on the days Ichigo didn't work they could stay at his own house. So, on Sundays he would get off work early, go home with Nelliel and settle back in. Then, Mondays and Tuesdays, they would spend time at the Kurosaki residence. It wasn't exactly what Ichigo wanted, but it actually worked out well for both of them, and Nel loved seeing her 'uncles' anyway.

Grabbing his bags up, Ichigo left his room, finding Nel waiting at the top of the staircase, her own bag in hand.

She stuck out her bottom lip as he walked over to her. "Are you ready now, Itsygo? You're just taking _forever_ today!" She said, waving her short arms around in her cute, childish exasperation.

The young man rolled his eyes with a smirk, following her down the stairs and into the kitchen again. He opened up the fridge, pulling out her yellow and pink Chappy lunchbox and his own plain, plum purple one. Once each of them had their respective lunchboxes, they slipped on their shoes in the foyer and Ichigo grabbed his keys. Doing one last check to make sure they had everything, he opened the door and stepped outside with Nel beside him and locked up the house.

At the side of the house was his bike, which he had gotten a few months after adopting Nelliel. Urahara, as well as some of his friends, had not been keen on the idea of him walking around everywhere with the three year old in tow. He hadn't been too happy about it either, but he didn't have the money for a car at the time, and Urahara and Starrk could only pick them up and such so often. So the blonde had been the one to take them to a bike shop on the other end of town, where he had picked out his current ride. It wasn't anything amazing, just a plain black bicycle with a metal carrier on the bag and a child seat attached to the front.

As Ichigo lifted Nel up and buckled her in, he began to become anxious, not for the first time, over how soon she wouldn't be able to use it anymore. There was a weight limit to all child carriers, and although Nel was a bit small for her age, it would only be a few more months at most before she outgrew it. When that happens, Ichigo will _have_ to get a car. Not that he was against a car, who would be? He had even been trying to save up for one, but he just wanted whatever he got to be practical for taking Nel around, not to mention affordable (or as affordable as he could manage). Oh well, he would think about that more another time.

After strapping down their overnight bag on the carrier, Ichigo hopped on and took off in the direction of the elementary school. From their house, the elementary school was only a mile and a half away, and only one mile from Urahara's. Ichigo's college was four more miles past him, and the young man was oh-so happy he did not have to walk that anymore. Before he had his schedule changed after his first semester, he had walked back and forth from campus, Urahara's apartment, and home. The difference on a bicycle was amazing, and it was a gift that Ichigo definitely appreciated.

Eight minutes later, the orangette was pulling up inside the walls that surrounded the school. At the front of the building was an open area with a cement walkway that led to the front doors. To the left of the building was a large field that held the playground, and around back was the parking lot. As Ichigo stopped close to the wall near the front steps, he caught sight of long, dark orange hair. Looking over, he smiled and waved to Nelliel's teacher as he put down the kick-stand and unhooked the toddler.

The young woman smiled back as she approached the pair.

"Hello Kurosaki-kun. Hello Nelliel. How are you this morning?" she chirped happily.

Ichigo was about to answer when the little girl animatedly began talking to her teacher. "Hello Miss Orihime! I am great! Today, Itsygo let me bring Kon so I could show him to everyone at show-and-tell. I'm so excited, I don't know if I can wait 'til lunch time!"

The buxom woman giggled and beamed down at the wavy-haired child. "Well, I am glad you are so enthusiastic, Nel. I'm sure everyone will love Kon."

Nel giggled and was about to say more, but caught sight of her best friend hurrying through the front entrance. With a squeak of delicate, she raced over to Yachiru and started to talk happily with her.

Shaking his head in amusement, Ichigo turned around to find Orihime looking at him, a kind smile on her face.

"And how are you, Kurosaki-kun?" she inquired.

Shrugging, he offered her a small smile. "I'm fine, Orihime. Just another day, although you would think from how Nel's acting it's Christmas or something. I swear, I thought I loved that plushie, but she just takes it to a whole new level."

The woman giggled again, nodding in understanding. "Children are incredible that way. They are able to find joy in the simplest of things."

The orange-haired man nodded, looking over again at the sea foam-haired girl. She was making her way over to him again, one of her hands cupped around Yachiru's as they swung them back and forth. When they reached the adults, they both smiled at Orihime as the pink-haired girl greeted her, and then turned their attention to Ichigo.

"Hi Ichi!" Yachiru giggled.

The orangette mentally shook his head at the nickname, but replied none the less. "Hey Yachiru. How are you today?"

The bubblegum-haired five year old grinned up at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement (there seemed to be a lot of that today).

"I'm great! Nelly-maid* told me she brought Kon today, so I am super excited to meet him! And Kenny let me bring his championship belt for show-and-tell!" At that she stopped and looked around cautiously before she leaned in closer to the young man. "But don't tell anyone, it's a surprise!" she whispered loudly.

Ichigo smirked and leaned down so he could whisper back. "Oh no, I wouldn't do that. But how did you get Kenpachi to let you bring it?"

Yachiru straightened, obvious pride and amusement in her voice. "Well, silly, I just asked him. And Kenny's a big show-off, ya know? He was happy when he gave it to me!"

Again, the man could only shake his head. Of course Kenpachi would be more than happy to let Yachiru show that off. He didn't flaunt his accomplishments constantly, but if someone was feeling froggy, he wouldn't hesitate to put them in their place and let them know exactly _who_ had done it. Not that Ichigo could imagine many people trying, as the man was huge! Seriously, one of his parents had to have been a giant or a mountain, because the guy was ripped like a bodybuilder on steroids and tall as fuck to boot (and that was without the intimidating spikes he called his hair).

Ichigo looked over at Nel, smiling while he crouched to envelope her in a hug. "Alright Nel, have a good day. Take care of Kon, and be safe. I'll see you after school."

With a ruffle to her aqua waves, the man stepped away, saying his goodbyes and waving at the trio as he hopped back onto his bike before he took off through the front entrance again. Turning down the sidewalk, he started the short ride towards his own school.

XOXOXOXO

"This is fucking bullshit."

Grimmjow was pissed. Well, more accurately, he was irritated as all hell. Why the fuck did he have to sit through this dumbass meeting again?

"Grimmjow, control yourself please," the blonde woman next to him said, not even bothering to look over at him.

"Tch, how can you say that shit? I'm fucking serious, this is bullshit!" Grimmjow slouched back in his plush leather chair, scooting back slightly to prop his feet up on the large wooden conference desk in front of him.

Around the table sat his co-workers, if you could call them that, though their scattered seating arrangement only served to irritate him further. There had been a time when ten members sat around that conference room, but now there were only 5. The most prominent loss was seen in the chair to his left; the one at the head of the table. He grumbled under his breath before looking over at the main speaker for the meeting.

"Isn't this old news? We already know Aizen wants to merge with us and gain our territory, so why the fuck are we here talking about it, _again_?" the blunette groused as he drummed his fingers on one of the armrests.

Large, emerald eyes stared blankly at him, their owner unimpressed by Grimmjow's outburst. "Because, Grimmjow, Sosuke Aizen has come forward again to request an audience with us, and has become more persistent in his attempts to get us to join his organization."

The blue-haired man sneered and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, isn't that _amazing_," he drawled. "We tell the fucker 'no' and being the pompous, arrogant, narcissistic douchebag that he is, he doesn't just stop and leave us the fuck alone. I am thoroughly shocked." Grimmjow glared pointedly at the green-eyed man across from him, lips curled back to show off pearly white teeth. "Just tell him 'no' _again_, and leave it at that. Next!"

Ulquiorra just blinked at him before he shook his head slightly, organizing his papers before sitting down. The pale man was the shortest one there, standing a good seven inches shorter than Grimmjow himself. He was wearing a sharp black suit with a matching black dress shirt underneath, the only color in his outfit the green tie that was a shade darker than his eyes. Short, choppy black locks framed his face and brushed the top of his shoulders, while a stubborn strand hung between his unusually large eyes.

Ulquiorra Cifer always took care of the paperwork and legal matters for the group, keeping their schedules and handing out the jobs that each of them needed to complete. As much as Grimmjow disliked him for his emotionless appearance and his sometimes condescending comments, the green-eyed man was a very valuable member to the group, and should they ever lose him, they would be thoroughly lost.

The man turned those large orbs to Grimmjow again. "Then may we start going over the funds that need to be collected?"

The blue-haired man nodded and gestured for him to proceed, propping his head up on a closed fist.

As Ulquiorra started to go over the accounts and those that were overdue and needed to be collected, Grimmjow slowly looked around at the others that sat with him.

The group's lead weaponry expert, Tia Hallibel, sat to his right, her bright blonde hair choppy and short in the front while three longer strands hung loose in the back. She wore a charcoal blazer that hugged her massive bosom, a smoky gray shirt peeking out from beneath it. A matching charcoal skirt that stopped just above the knee and black pumps finished off her outfit, her sharp green eyes focused on Ulquiorra as he went over the report.

Two seats down from her, at the end chair, sat a very slim, pale man with eyes that seemed forever closed and slanted, making him resemble a mischievous fox (though some would argue he looked more like a snake). Gin Ichimaru was a relatively new member of their organization, having been inducted barely three years prior after he defected from Aizen's gang. Grimmjow, as well as several others, had been suspicious of the willowy man at the beginning; though considering how underhanded and conniving Aizen could be, no one could really blame them. It had been their leader at the time that had vouched for Gin's trustworthiness, and had brought him into the fold as their intelligence specialist. Grimmjow had to give it to the man, he had proven his worth time and time again, and always seemed to know everything that was going on; even the best kept secrets seemed to somehow reach his ears.

Gin was resting comfortably in his own plush chair, slender fingers woven together and sitting in his lap. The closed-mouth smile that rarely left his face was present as he too listened to the account reports, nodding every now and again as he took in the information. Soft, pale silver hair framed his face and covered his brow, sometimes falling in the way to shadow his creepy closed eyes. His fitted black suit, black tie, and crisp white undershirt only added to his innate sinister appearance; even without trying he looked like a yakuza boss.

One seat over from Gin, on the opposite side of the table, Nnoitra Gilga was slouched over his section of the desk, one long arm outstretched carelessly while he had his other against his cheek to prop his head up; much like Grimmjow was doing. Nnoitra was the blunette's best friend, though with how much they argued and made fun of one another, not everyone would be able to tell. The giant of a man came in at seven feet even and was skinny as a rail, though if you asked anyone who had ever gotten a beating from him they could attest to him being solid as a rock wall. Plus those bony limbs of his hurt like a motherfucker! His long black hair was straight and reached the middle of his back, and a specially-made, black eye patch covered his left eye and a majority of his left cheek. When he had been younger, he had gotten into a particularly nasty street brawl that had led to him losing his left eye. While he liked to freak people out with the scars, most of the time he kept them hidden beneath the patch. He used to tell Grimmjow it was his 'secret weapon' when he wanted to interrogate people. Nnoitra said he didn't have to use it often, but when he did quite a few cowardly saps had pissed their pants.

Currently, Nnoitra was wearing simple black slacks and an open black blazer, his plum purple button-up shirt open slightly at the top, showing off a little of his collarbone and chest. His expression clearly screamed how bored he was, thin fingers tapping lightly on the dark wood in front of him, a frown pulling at his lips and his good eye turned upward, as if asking for some higher being to shut the emo-looking man up.

Ulquiorra, who was one seat down from Nnoitra and sitting across from Hallibel, was reaching the end of his reports. Grimmjow took that time to plaster on a business-like face, having heard all of the information even though he hadn't paid any attention to it. When Ulquiorra was done, he looked over at the blue-haired man again, waiting for his input.

Grimmjow was the makeshift leader of the group, even though he never liked to consider himself such and had even outright refused the position when the remaining members had voted for him to take the position. First off, he didn't _want_ to lead anyone, much less deal with all the bullshit that came with the territory. He liked his job as the main interrogator and overall muscle, his hot temper and somewhat sadistic personality were perfect for both jobs. But when their former boss had stepped down, leaving the group to have a 'normal life,' Grimmjow had somehow been the one to take up the role, even if it was informally. The blunette had too much respect for his old boss to take his place, as he thought there was really no one else who could fill the role as well as he had. So Grimmjow had tried to create a compromise, and for the most part it worked. The remaining heads of the Arrancar group, a well-known gang organization that operated legally through the use of a financial firm, would work together closely while still dealing with their own areas of expertise. All of the members would have a say in the discussions that affected the whole organization, but Grimmjow would have the final say on the matters. It wasn't exactly what he wanted, but he could live with it.

Heaving an inner sigh, Grimmjow gave his final comments for the meeting.

"Alright. Ulquiorra, hand out the standard accounts that need collecting to Nnoi. I will take the ones that have not been paid in several months and…persuade their owners to pay up and continue to make their payments on time from now on. Gin, see what you can find out about what Aizen is doing now, and make sure that bastard gets our message this time. Keep it diplomatic though. As much as I wanna punch his face in, I don't wanna start anything with the guy if he isn't getting physical either. Hal, there really isn't much in your field going on right now, so you can either go with Nnoi or Gin on their assignments, or do personal projects. It's up to you. So, everyone keep in contact with each other and me, and let me know if there are any issues that come up. If there is nothing else we need to discuss here…I'm going the fuck home."

At the nods from everyone, Grimmjow rose from his chair and left the conference room, heading down the hall to the elevator. Once inside, he sighed heavily and loosened his black tie with one hand while the other plowed through his sky blue tresses. He couldn't wait to go home and get out of his navy slacks and black dress shirt, his blazer already off and stuffed in the crook of one elbow. When the door opened with a soft ding, he strode powerfully through the parking garage towards his electric blue Dodge Charger SRT8, grinning as he opened her up and slide into the comfy leather seat.

Whipping out of his parking space and speeding off towards his residence, Grimmjow began to think more and more that he needed to do something outside of work. He hadn't hung out with any of his friends outside of his organization in quite a while and, no offense to Nnoi, but he needed to get away from that shit and just relax. Smirking, he made a mental note to call his old friend Kenny when he got home.

**XOXOXOXO**

***Yachiru always gives people nicknames in Bleach, so I decided to keep that going with Nel here. This nickname will be explained later. Anyone wanna guess at why she calls her this? ^^**

**The Arrancar organization will be explained more later on, as well as why the group has less members now and who the old boss was. Anyone wanna guess at who that was as well? Also, I'm planning on this being a decently long story, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. Grimmjow and Ichigo will meet in the next chapter or two, but I wanted to draw their meeting out into two parts. A fleeting, chance meeting, and then something more memorable.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! Good grief, this took forever and a day, didn't it? I'm sorry it took so long, between the holidays, writers block, a new job, buying my first house, pet sitting and trying to enjoy some of the nice weather, real life has kept me very, very busy. But I have finally finished Chapter 2, and I am so happy to be done with edits! A huge thank you to those that reviewed, favorited, and followed this story; it's been a wonderful encouragement. I also wanted to announce that I will be trying to post another story soon, though I'm not sure which idea will be the next to be published. I am hoping it will help keep me engaged in my writing, whenever I have the time for it. So, without further delay, here is Chapter 2!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only own the story, and do not make any money from it.

**Copyright: **Second Chances Misc. Ink

**Warnings: **AU, OOC, swearing, violence, and yaoi in later chapters.

**XOXOXOXO**

Friday came quickly for Ichigo, which he was grateful for. He had been given several long-term assignments in his studio classes that would be due before winter break, and he had about a week to decide for sure what he was going to do for each piece. He would also have to think about mediums and color palettes, but he would worry about that over the weekend when he had more time. Right now, he was picking Nel up from school, and everything else could wait until they got home.

Pulling up outside the front of the school, Ichigo put the kick-stand down and dismounted, looking through the crowd of children for his own. Orange brows scrunched up as he continued scanning the area, unable to find that mass of wavy sea-green locks he knew so well. In his distraction, he failed to notice the large presence coming up behind him.

"Hey, kid."

At the low, guttural voice, Ichigo spun around in surprise before recognition pulled his face into a smirk.

"'Ey, Kenpachi. What's up?"

Kenpachi was a huge man, standing almost seven feet and boasting an incredible set of muscles; which was no surprise, considering his background. The black t-shirt he sported looked like it would rip right off his chest at any moment, but miraculously it remained intact. Tattered black jeans rested loosely on his hips and black steel-toed boots peeked out from under the ragged hems. Today he had forgone his usual spikes, leaving his wild black mane loose to flow down his back. Ichigo mentally shook his head. Even casually dressed, the older man was an intimidating beast.

Kenpachi shrugged. "Just picking up the squirt. Came to find ya, 'cause Yachi wants Nel to sleep over this weekend. They're waitin' in the truck right now, figured I oughta let you know and make sure it's alright."

Ichigo frowned in contemplation for a moment. There wasn't anything he had to do with Nel this weekend, and Urahara hadn't mentioned anything. Nel had been over to Kenpachi's several times now anyway, and she always had a lot of fun there. He also knew Kenpachi was great with her and Yachiru, and was good about keeping in touch with him during her stays. Despite his outward appearance, the man was an excellent father and treated his little girl right.

Ichigo nodded, looking back up at Kenpachi. "Yeah, sure, that sounds fine. How long is she staying?"

The older man gestured to the back parking lot with a jerk of his thumb. "Just bring your bike around and I'll give you a lift back to your place. We can talk about it on the way."

"Ah, that's ok," the orange-head hurriedly objected, "I can just ride my bike home, so-"

A large, calloused hand gripped his shoulder firmly as a pair of tiny, dark green eyes bored into his.

"I said," Kenpachi muttered in a low, serious tone, "to bring your bike around…and we'll talk about it on the way."

While Ichigo wasn't afraid of the man, he also knew when an argument was useless. In this case, he knew the bigger male could just throw him over his shoulder and carry him _and_ his bike if he wanted to.

"Uh…ok then."

Kenpachi flashed a pleased grin at the orangette, showing off two rows of shark-like teeth. "Glad ya see it my way, kid. Come on, don't wanna keep the girls waitin'."

With that, the large man turned and started heading around the building towards the parking lot, leaving Ichigo to scramble to grab his bike and follow. When he caught up to him, Kenpachi started speaking. "Alright, so Yachi wants Nel to stay until tomorrow afternoon. Think they wanna talk about Halloween costumes or something. I figure I can bring her back home sometime in the afternoon. Sound alright?"

The younger man nodded and stared at the ground as they entered the parking lot. Halloween was only a few weeks away, it would make sense they would want to decide what they were going to be. This would also give Ichigo time to think about his paintings, and maybe even do some sketching. Hell, he might even take a nap before work, now that he had the time and didn't need to make dinner first.

They stopped at the far end of the lot around the back of Kenpachi's black 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. With one hand, the older man plucked the bike from Ichigo and loaded it into the truck bed, directing him to grab a seat while he secured it.

Ichigo walked around the side of the beastly pickup and climbed into the front passenger's seat, swiveling around to greet two small, smiling faces.

"Hiya, Ichi!" Yachiru beamed, a coloring book in her lap and a pack of crayons dumped out next to her.

"Hey, Yachiru." The orangette replied before looking to his adoptive daughter. "Hey, Nel. How was school today?"

"Ah, it was so good, Itsygo!" the little girl giggled. "We had cookies at snack time and Ms. Orihime read us a book called 'The Very Hungry…'" Nel paused and turned to her pink-haired companion. "What was that thing called?"

The other girl thought for a moment, tapping a purple crayon on her chin. "It was a…a…a cater-tiller!"

The sea-green haired toddler giggled. "Oh, yeah! It was called 'The Very Hungry Cater-tiller.' He ate lots and lots of food, but he was still always hungry! I thought for sure he'd pop, but he didn't, Itsygo." Nel's eyes were wide with surprise and awe, attempting to convey how shocking this knowledge was to her guardian.

Ichigo smiled and ruffled her wavy locks. "That sounds like a great story, Nel. I'm glad you had a good day."

A moment later, Kenpachi climbed into his own seat, started the truck, and pulled out of the parking lot after making sure everyone was buckled up. Ichigo enjoyed the short ride home listening to the girls chatter excitedly about class and costume ideas before he caught Kenpachi glancing over at him.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Tch, what, I can't just look at ya now?" Kenpachi grumbled, eyes flicking to the road before glancing at him again. "How you been, kid?"

A little perplexed by the question, Ichigo quirked an orange eyebrow before answering honestly. "I've been alright. Nothing new really, just some more assignments before the end of the semester. How about yourself?"

The older man chuckled and shrugged. "Ah, ya know me, nothing much to report. Haven't had much excitement lately."

At that, the orangette laughed before smirking slyly over at the muscular man. "Really now? What about Szayel, he not exciting enough for you? How're you and him doing?"

That instantly brought a dangerous smile to Kenpachi's face, glancing in his rearview to see that the girls were still preoccupied before answering. "Oh, forgot about that. Yeah, he's doing good, actually started coming over a little while ago. He can be a testy one, but ya know how I like 'em. Feisty lil' minx. Found out he can be a kinky bitch, too."

Ichigo sputtered and blushed hotly, quickly checking that wasn't heard by more youthful ears before he scowled at the man next to him; though the effect was dampened by his obvious embarrassment.

"Jesus, Kenpachi, I don't need to know that shit!" He fumed lowly. "And don't say that kind of stuff around Nel, it's bad enough if you do it around Yachiru!"

Kenpachi laughed heartily, to the young man's annoyance, knowing any comment involving sex would turn him as red as his namesake. "Hah, sorry kid. Forgot ya don't like 'adult talk.'" He grinned dangerously at the now glaring orange-head. "You're the one that asked how we were doing, and I told ya. Don't be such a prude, kid. Szayel wouldn't care I'm talkin' about it. Hell, he'd probably voice our exploits more than me, especially with him being able to-"

"Ack, no, stop!" Ichigo interrupted him, arms flailing comically as he tried to shut the man up before he heard even more than he cared to. "And I asked how you were doing, not _what_ you were doing, you ass," he grumbled hotly.

The older man snickered, but thankfully left it alone as they were pulling into Ichigo's driveway. The youth breathed a sigh of relief, glad he wouldn't have to listen to any more explicit nonsense about what those two crazy men were doing behind closed doors and his face could return to a more normal color.

Kenpachi parked and shut off the truck before hopping out with Ichigo, meeting him around the back to grab his bicycle when it was handed to him.

"Let me put this away real quick and I'll grab some stuff for Nel to take with her," he called out as he propped the bike against the side of the house by the front door. Grabbing his backpack, he hurried inside and dropped his belongings in the entryway before making his way to Nel's room. He took one of their smaller overnight bags and stuffed it with a pair of day clothes and pjs, a spare toothbrush and a comb. Yachiru had a lot of games and things to play with at her house, and since it was just for one night, she wouldn't need much. He would have tucked Kon in there as well, but he was still sitting at Urahara's. The orangette huffed softly. She'd just have to go without him for a night.

Quickly making his way downstairs, he mentally checked to make sure Nel wouldn't need anything else before meeting the trio outside once again. He plopped the bag in the front seat and opened up Nel's door to give her a hug and say goodbye. He thanked Kenpachi and ran through the plan again before turning towards the house, but was stopped as he made to leave.

"Oi, kid."

The youth halted and turned back to the larger man. "Yeah?"

Kenpachi stared at him for a moment, seeming to size him up and contemplate something before he nodded slightly. "Take care of yourself and…try to have some fun, yeah?"

Ichigo blinked in confusion, not sure where that had come from. "Uh…" he started dumbly. "Alright, sure. I'll try, I guess."

The larger man just shook his head a bit, smirking knowingly. "Yeah, I'm sure ya will. See ya tomorrow, kid."

With that, the dark-haired man climbed in and started up the truck. He waited as they pulled out, waving to Nel as they started on their way to Kenpachi's. He stood outside a moment longer before heading in, thoughts on his future projects and wondering what the older man had meant.

**XOXOXOXO**

"Ya know…" Grimmjow started, a beer in one hand as he lounged easily in a plastic lawn chair. "You could have told me you had stuff going on today, and I would've come over another time." His gaze was directed at the two young girls playing across the yard, towels laid out under them as they soaked in the sun and babbled amongst themselves, stuffed animals and coloring books strung around them. Kenny was sitting next to him in his own chair, brown house-slippers that had seen better days covering his huge feet that were propped up on a plastic ottoman. Stained, faded blue jeans clad his long and muscular legs, and a rumpled, green long-sleeve shirt covered burly arms. He took a swig of his beer, his own eyes watching the girls, before answering Grimmjow.

"Nah, it's alright. Been wantin' ta see ya anyway. Gets boring around here sometimes with just the squirt. And don't get me wrong, Nel's great and all," he gestured to the sea foam-haired girl next to Yachiru, "but she's Yachi's friend. Need another man ta talk to sometimes, ya know?"

Grimmjow chuckled and nodded in agreement. He didn't really hang out with a lot of women or kids, but being a single father to a little girl, even one tom-boyish like Yachiru, couldn't be very good when it came to wanting to talk about and do "male things." Speaking of which…

"By the way," the younger man started, devilish smirk causing the older man to cock an expectant brow. "How have you and Szayel been doing?"

Kenpachi blinked in surprise before busting out in deep laughter, holding his side with one hand while the other clutched his bottle. It took a minute, but he finally looked over at Grimmjow again, wiping his eyes with mirth. "Hell, you're the second one to ask me that in a day's time." He shook his head in amusement, massive grin in place. "An' ta answer your question, we're doing good. Man started coming over to visit, actually."

Grimmjow's features softened slightly as he continued his inquiry. "Oh yeah? How's that going?" He wasn't shy when it came to asking the man about his love life. They both could pitch for the same team, and he didn't mind discussing that kind of stuff if Kenny didn't; and he knew for a fact the older man didn't.

True to his thoughts, the dark-haired man's grin seemed to consume his rugged face. "Ah, that man's gonna be the death of me. Took him a bit to really warm up to me, though he liked Yachi right away." He scoffed softly then, pointing to his wild hair and fixing the younger man with an indignant glare. "I think it's 'cause they have the same fucking hair. Bitches gotta stay together, especially when they got a color that unreal."

The blunette cackled loudly while the other man continued. "And believe me, his is natural all right. Might be feminine, but it fuckin' turns me on like no tomorrow. Think it's sexy on him." He paused to grin wickedly at his companion. "Found out he's a little kinky too, likes me to punish his ass and make him beg for it." Kenny made an obscene gesture with one hand like he was holding the man down and thrust his hips slightly, parodying a slow, grinding motion. "I got him turned into a puddle of mush by the end of it, pleadin' for me to finish. He always comes back for more though, he likes the teasing." He finished with a deep swig of his beer, leaving the younger male to snicker softly.

"Shit, sounds like you got your hands full then. I don't know if I could be patient when it comes to shit like that." Grimmjow took a sip of his own beverage, a lecherous smile pulling at his lips. "I'm all for a good fight to get started, but in the end I like to put 'em through the mattress."

Kenpachi chuckled deeply as he took another pull from the bottle. "Ah, you'll slow down with age. Ain't nothing wrong with making it last, and the look on your partner's face when ya do," he wiggled dark eyebrows suggestively for emphasis, "is fucking priceless."

After another round of laughter, they settled into a comfortable silence before Grimmjow picked up on something the man had mentioned earlier.

"Wait, so someone else asked you about Szayel? I thought you hadn't told a lot of people yet."

Kenny wasn't shy about letting people know he was bi, and he sure as hell didn't care if anyone knew who he was dating, but he hadn't been sure where Szayel would lead. He also didn't know the pink-haired man's thoughts on having their relationship, if they really had one, being made public. As far as Grimmjow knew, he was the only one besides his daughter that had known about the possible hookup.

Kenpachi smiled around his beer, finishing it off before reaching into the blue cooler between them to grab another. He screwed off the top and took a long gulp before explaining. "Yeah, it was the guy that introduced us, actually."

The blue-haired man perked up considerably at that, staring at the bigger man expectantly. He knew a bit about how Szayel and Kenny met, that they had been introduced through a mutual acquaintance or something, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

The older male chuckled at his friend's obvious curiosity and decided to elaborate. "Well, I met him the second day of school. His daughter, Nel," Kenpachi gestured with his new bottle to the child playing with his own again, "really hit it off with Yachi. She wouldn't shut up about this little girl with pretty hair, so I had to check it out."

**XOXOXOXO**

_Kenpachi pulled into the elementary school parking lot, turned off his truck and hopped out. Strolling leisurely across the paved walkway as his hands found their way into his jeans pockets, he wondered what this kid would be like that had befriended his daughter. Yachi didn't really have a lot of friends, since Kenpachi thought "play dates" were stupid and whenever some parent saw her father, they tended to run away screaming with their child in tow._

_He sighed, cracking his neck as he rolled his thick shoulders. Maybe this would be good for Yachi, and since it was a girl they ought to have a lot in common. Hopefully it went well._

_Making his way around the side of the elementary school, Kenpachi was just in time to hear the final bell ring. Almost instantly, kids started pouring out the doors, rushing to find their parents or board the buses. Seeking out his own kid, he spotted her racing across the lawn with another little girl in tow, heading towards a younger looking man. As he approached them, the dark-haired man took his time observing the three of them together._

_Yachi seemed very happy and excited, which was good, and the other girl matched her enthusiasm. She was about the same size as Yachi, maybe an inch or two shorter, and had hair just as unique as her own. Seafoam green waves reached the middle of her back, and she was dressed in a simple yellow dress with a thick white bow around the waist, and white slip-ons adored her tiny feet. She had large, hazel eyes and, Kenpachi noticed with curiosity, a pale pink scar ran from her forehead to the bottom of her nose._

_Turning his attention to the man in front of them, Kenny admitted he was intrigued. The guy looked young, definitely younger than him, and if he had to guess, the youth barely looked old enough to be out of high school. He had tan, sun-kissed skin, stood at an average height, and had the softest, deepest brown eyes Kenpachi had ever seen. But that all seemed to pale in comparison to his flaming, sunset orange hair. The spiky tuffs stuck out in a soft halo that almost glowed in the early afternoon light. The whole package drew him in and he knew there was something about this kid that made the older man wanna get to know him._

_Reaching the small group, Kenpachi waited to be acknowledged, which, needless to say, didn't take long. The orange-head noticed him first, his once soft brown eyes widening slightly in surprise, before they quickly turned harder and sharp. Kenpachi had a bit of a hard time not outwardly showing his immense surprise. Kid wasn't intimidated by him? Interesting._

_Yachiru finally noticed her father, and squealed before launching herself at his leg; which made the young man sputter in confusion._

"_Hey Kenny, what took ya so long? You were about to miss Nelly-maid and Ichi!"_

"_Ichi" looked up at Kenpachi again incredulously, not believing what he had just heard. "You're Kenny? Yachiru's dad?" he questioned, pointing up at his scarred face._

_Kenny grinned and nodded in affirmation, reaching down to pat his child on the head as she clung to his knee. "Yeah, Kenpachi Zaraki, and who exactly are you, 'Ichi?'"_

_Shock registered in the kid's face for about half a second before a scowl took its place. This only made the older man grin wider. _Cute.

"_Actually, my name's Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki. And this," he gestured to the little girl beside him, who was now staring at tall man in fascination, "is my daughter, Neliel."_

_Now it was Kenpachi's turn to be shocked. This kid was that kid's father? He had thought maybe a brother or some other relative. Maybe even a family friend. But a daddy? Now Kenpachi had to know more._

"_You're her dad?" he scoffed. "When the hell'd ya have her, when you were fourteen? Ya don't look any older than eighteen ta me, kid. What, couldn't keep your dick in your pants 'til ya were older or ya forgot to wrap it up? And how the hell did she get hair like that, 'cause it sure as shit didn't come from you," he finished with a gesture to Ichigo's own stunning tresses._

_The orangette's jaw was now hanging wide open, chocolaty eyes huge, and a look of utter stupification had taken over his youthful features. Kenpachi was about to ask if anyone was home in there when the kid's face twisted in fury and bright red consumed his cheeks and neck, the color even making its way onto his ears._

Oh-ho, this should be good.

_A lean arm shot out, catching Kenpachi's muscular tricep, and before he really knew what was going on, the other male was leading him away from the girls as he shouted a hasty "Wait here a sec." Kenny grunted as he was shoved into the brick wall that surrounded the school, deep green orbs locking on his assailant's face. Furious brown eyes glared up at him as a slender hand fisted into the front of his t-shirt, pressing him back against the gritty wall._

"_Look here, asshole," Ichigo whispered hotly, his face getting close to his own. "First of all, I've "kept my dick in my pants" my whole damn life, so there was no need to "wrap it up," as you so eloquently put it. And secondly, I'm twenty-one and, thirdly, Nel is my _adoptive_ daughter, so don't ever give me shit about her age or my own. Finally, if you ever cuss in front of my daughter again, I'll knock your fucking teeth out. Got it, you ignorant piece of shit?"_

_Kenpachi could feel his eyebrows disappear into his hairline as he gaped at the angry youth. Well, that answered his questions. And damn, did this kid have a temper. A devilish smirk crept onto Kenny's face, eyes dancing with humor. If this was Yachi's new friend's dad, or adoptive dad or whatever, he thought they would all get along just fine. He couldn't hang out with some pussy while his little girl played with her new friend, now could he?_

_Separating Ichigo's fist from his shirt and pushing it away, the older man chuckled and grinned down at the now bewildered young man. _

"_So, what you're trying to tell me is…you're still a virgin?"_

_Heat roared back across the sputtering kid's face, disbelief and mortification halting his thought process and making an immediate response impossible. Which was perfectly fine for Kenpachi, as he was in the middle of a fit of boisterous laughter. God, this kid was great, and they'd only just met!_

_Finally coming back to himself, Ichigo sent him a glare that would have killed a lesser man, but it only made Kenny laugh harder. Realizing his eyes were not, in fact, burning the older man where he stood, the orange-haired youth sighed in annoyance as he tried to force the mad blush off his cheeks._

"_Is that the only thing you heard, you giant baboon?"_

_Wiping his eyes, Kenny straightened up and waved the kid off, his customary shark-tooth grin in place. "Alright kid, I got it. No cussin' around the kiddies, and Nel's yours but ya didn't make her."_

_Releasing another deep chuckle, he started heading back towards the girls, who seemed to be getting along just fine without their parents around. "Now, I got one more question for ya, kid."_

_Ichigo looked at him dubiously before nodding slowly. "Alright, what?"_

_The larger man turned so one dark eye found the orangette. "Why the heck is Yachi callin' your kid "Nelly-maid?'"_

_The younger man blinked and stared at Kenpachi for a moment before he tipped his head back and laughed. The older man had to admit, it sounded nice, and the smile looked a hell of a lot better on the kid than the scowl did._

"_Oh, that. Yesterday, she came running up to us before school started and said Nel's hair looked like "beautiful seaweed." From there, somehow she got on the topic of how pretty Nel was, and she just decided she had to be a mermaid; because of her hair I guess. So…now she's 'Nellymaid.'" He shrugged, then paused and smiled over at Kenpachi. "Nel was very happy about that, though I had to explain to her what seaweed was."_

_Laughing loudly, Kenpachi clapped the younger man on the back as they stopped in front of their children._

_Oh yeah, they'd get along just fine._

**XOXOXOXO**

Kenpachi shook his head at the memory, chuckling.

"Anyway, Yachi got sick two weeks later and, bein' my charming self, the last doc I had for her wouldn't see us anymore." He grumbled inwardly at that. It wasn't his damn fault. The dick made her cry with that needle, he deserved to be sent to the hospital. Bet he didn't like the needles there, either. "So I asked the kid where he takes Nel, and he recommended Szayel to me. Best damn thing that's ever come out of a doctor's visit for me." Kenny grinned wolfishly then, downing more of his cold beverage.

The blue-haired man nodded, sipping his beer thoughtfully. Nel's father sounded interesting, if nothing else. If he could get along with Kenny fine and Yachiru liked him, then he couldn't be too bad. Grimmjow grinned, musing over the possibilities. Maybe he'd have another buddy to hang out with outside of work.

"So, what's this kid like?" he couldn't help but ask.

His dark-haired friend thought a moment, rubbing his chin as he pondered how best to describe Ichigo.

"Ah, well, let's see. He's got one hell of a temper sometimes, and he can cuss just as much as me, but he never does it in front of the kids. He works at a bar in town, makes pretty good money there, I think. When ya first look at 'im, some people would think he's some start-up, wanna-be punk, but he's really got a heart of gold and he'd do anything for Nel. I don't think he'd ever start a fight, but he's got the moves to finish one." Kenny chuckled as he remembered one incident. "I saw him get into a scrap one time, some teens tryin' ta pick a fight with him for some reason, and let me tell ya, he put 'em in their place. Damn, that kid's got a mean right-hook. Got one of the best round-houses I've ever seen, too, for that matter. Anyway, he's something else."

Dark eyes twinkled as a lecherous grin split the older male's face. "And another thing," he continued lowly, so as not to be overheard by the kids across the yard. "Kid's got a great personality, I'ma be honest, and the fact he can hold his own in a fight and has a sense of humor ain't bad either. But the bonus is the kid's a fuckin' knockout. Honey skin, flamin' hair, legs for fuckin' miles, and his eyes! I'ma tell ya straight, if I was twenty years younger and I didn't have Szayel, I'd be all over him." Kenpachi winked conspiratorially at Grimmjow. "But don't ever tell the kid that, he'd constantly be thinking I'ma jump him after that. And I would, if certain things were different. But, anyway, he really is a fine piece. Bet'cha if ya ever met him, ya'd know what I mean."

Grimmjow wasn't sure what to say, much less think. He took Kenny's description of the man seriously, as the older man had never given him reason to doubt his judge of character. Plus, he had found that they had a similar taste in men; to an extent, anyway. They both liked them with a bit of attitude, a good heart, and a gorgeous body never hurt. He hadn't met Szayel in person yet, but Kenny had texted him a picture when they started seeing each other, and the blue-haired man could admit to seeing the appeal. The pink hair didn't turn him on like it did his friend, but the willowy man had a sexy, intelligent, minx-in-sheep's-clothing feel to him. His friend definitely had an eye for the lookers. So if Kenny said this kid was the total package, he'd take his word for it. Although, now that just made him want to meet the man in person even more. He'd have to make it a point to see this kid for himself.

The younger man was just about to inquire about that possibility when Kenpachi's phone started ringing, the older man fishing it out of his pocket and glancing at the screen. With a chuckle, he flashed a sharky grin and muttered, "Speak of the devil," before flipping it open to answer.

"'Ey, kid, what's up?" Kenny listened a moment, then sneered. "What? Why the fuck ya doin' that? I told ya I'd pick ya up…Uh-huh, 'course you're on your way already…yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before, kid. So when ya gonna get here?"

A blue brow rose in amusement, wondering what the other half of the conversation was like. Kenny didn't really sound mad, just a bit miffed. Kid must have annoyed him a bit with whatever he was saying or doing.

"Yeah, I'll be keepin' an eye out for ya. Be safe, kid, and I'm takin' ya _both_ home when ya get here. No, no bitching, ya baby. I'm takin' ya, and that's the end of it. See ya then." With that, Kenpachi flipped the phone shut before the other man could protest. Sighing dramatically, the older man looked over at his companion and rolled his eyes.

"Freakin' kid rides a bike 'cause he ain't got money for a car yet. He's on his way, but he'll be a while yet. Told the kid to call me and I'd just bring Nel and get him, but he wants to be a pain in the ass and make shit harder on himself. Fuckin' brat."

The blunette couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's blunt explanation. Before he could reply, though, he found that they had an audience. He examined the girl next to Yachiru more closely as she took the time to do the same. Her unique locks were tied in a simple ponytail behind her head, and choppy bangs swept across her forehead. Grimmjow took in her heart-shaped face and peachy skin, not failing to notice the pale scar that marred her innocent features. He made a mental note to ask Kenny about that later. She was wearing a light blue dress, almost the same color as his hair, he noticed, and plain white sneakers.

Large, wheat-grey eyes examined him for another moment before turning to Kenpachi.

"Kenny, was that Itsygo?"

_Itsygo? What the hell kind of name was that?_

The larger man ran a hand threw his dark tresses, lips curling in annoyance. "Yeah, he's coming, being a pain in the ass though."

"Ah, Kenny, you sweared again! I'm gonna tell Ichi, and he's gonna yell at you!" Yachiru giggled, pointing at her father teasingly.

"Tch, damn brat." He groused. "Why dontcha girls go inside and get ready, he said he'd be here in about half an hour."

The girls squealed and ran inside, leaving their toys and other play things outside to be collected by another. Kenny shook his head before rising from his lawn chair, stretching and popping his joints with a satisfied sigh. He nodded to his companion. "Well, ya gonna stick around or what?"

Grimmjow smirked and shook his head. "Nah, man, maybe some other time."

He glanced at his watch and grimaced slightly. "I should have left a while ago, actually."

And he really should have. He never completely got a break from work, and he was supposed to collect from a few clients today. He had a bit of time before his first one, but it was in Hueco Mundo and it would take him about 45 minutes to get back there. Sometimes it sucked living so far away from his only normal friend. Although, really, Kenny wasn't that normal, by most people's standards.

Chuckling to himself, he reached out to shake his friend's hand. "It was good to see you again, Kenny. We need to do this again sometime," he paused and smirked at the taller man. "Maybe without the kiddies, yeah?"

Kenpachi laughed good-naturedly, nodding in agreement and shaking his hand firmly. "Yeah, we'll see. Maybe Szayel will watch 'em, or the kid can take 'em for a day. Hell, maybe next time ya can meet the kid."

Grimmjow nodded and finished his goodbyes before heading out to his car, which was parked along the side of the street in front of the house. Sliding in and starting her up, he pulled away with a sly grin pulling at his lips. Maybe next time he'd meet this fiery knockout his friend had been talking about. Whatever came of it, he was sure it would be interesting. Before that though, he needed to get to work. He might even make a quick pit stop and grab some cigarettes.

**XOXOXOXO**

Sure enough, ten minutes later Grimmjow was leaning against the side of a small convenient store, tearing open one of the packs of cigs he had bought. He pulled out one of the sticks, fished out his lighter from his pants pocket and lit it. A satisfied sigh left his lips after a long, slow drag. He balanced the cig between his lips as he riffled through his plastic bag of goodies, making sure he had everything he paid for. Three packs of Menthol lights, a pack of spearmint gum and a bottle of Coca-Cola. Yep, everything was there.

He glanced at his surroundings, the store's brick surface to his back and other small stores lined the street he was parked on. Knowing he seriously had to head off to Hueco Mundo now, he let loose a resigned sigh and started off towards his car.

Almost instantly, though, his progress was firmly halted by a solid force smashing into his chest. If his bag wasn't looped around his wrist, Grimmjow would have lost his grip and its contents would be scattered on the dirty ground. He grunted in annoyance and was about to chew out the dickwad who had smacked into him, when the most arresting set of chocolate brown eyes looked up at him.

Grimmjow's breath actually hitched slightly as he stared. They seemed to contain the richest shades of brown, from dark mahogany to sienna, with flecks of golden honey sprinkled throughout. Those orbs were so enrapturing, he was having a very difficult time pulling his gaze away. With some effort, he regained his willpower and took in the rest of the figure that had run into him.

It was a young man, definitely several years younger than himself, with tan skin and a lean figure. He wore white sneakers with red stripes along the sides, slightly tattered and paint-stained blue skinnies, and a red shirt with a bold, gothic "15" that clung to a lithe, muscular chest. In one hand he was clutching a brown paper bag, the contents of which Grimmjow couldn't see. The boy's face was a bit flushed and he seemed a little out of breath, which would make sense if he was in a hurry and not paying attention to his surroundings. Soft-looking, full lips were parted slightly, and Grimmjow had to mentally hold himself back from licking his own. He couldn't make out the youth's hair under the army-green beanie that was pulled snuggly over his head, but what he could see of the man was delicious.

His observation only lasted a few moments, during which time the younger male flushed lightly, then grunted a short "Sorry" and hurried past Grimmjow. The blunette followed his path with curious and somewhat disappointed orbs, watching the hottie disappear around the corner of the convenience store. Tching under his breath, he shook himself from the mini-stupor he had experienced from the alluring youth and headed towards his car. He was still fucking late.

**XOXOXOXO**

He was late! He had told Kenpachi half an hour, but it'd been 40 minutes already and he still wasn't at the older man's house. Ichigo cursed himself for stopping at the local art supplies store on the way. He'd just wanted to look real quick, but ended up getting distracted by the wide variety of paints and the different weights of canvas. This happened every time, so one would think he'd have learned his lesson, but he couldn't help it!

Ichigo tched under his breath as he hurriedly pedaled down the road. _Damn mediums calling out to his artistic brain._

As he flew down the streets towards Kenpachi's house, Ichigo's mind began to drift back to the man he had run into on the way over. He had chained his bike around the back of the convenient store, the only bike rack on the block, and was on his way back when he had run into the stranger. He had only observed him for a moment in his haste, but he had made out the muscular figure, healthy-looking skin, strong face and the most amazing head of robin's egg blue hair he had ever seen. _And he though his hair color was an oddity._ He hadn't been able to make out the man's eyes, as they were concealed by dark aviator sunglasses, but a part of him was sure they were just as good looking as the rest of the male seemed to be.

The orangette huffed a sigh at that, mentally berating himself. What was he doing thinking about some stranger, admittedly a good-looking one, when he should be concentrating on school work and picking up Nel? Face set in determination, Ichigo continued making his way towards Kenpachi's, but not before one last fleeting thought of blue.

**XOXOXOXO**

"For the love of god, Shinji, I don't wanna wear this. I look so…stupid." Ichigo whined, picking at his outfit in annoyance. "This doesn't even look like a real costume."

Shinji flipped his short blond locks and sighed dramatically as he combed through Nel's hair. "You look fine, Ichigo, and aren't you the one that said you didn't want 'some stupid, cliché prince's outfit?' Well, it's definitely not classical or cliché, but it looks fine, right Nelly?"

The toddler giggled and nodded happily, which made it difficult for Shinji to put the clips in her hair. "Yeah, Itsygo, you look so handsome! I like the blue, and Kon says he liked the lions a lot! Shin-chan did a good job."

Deflating at his adoptive daughter's compliments, Ichigo turned back to the full-length mirror propped against his bedroom wall and scrutinized his outfit again. Truly, it wasn't that bad. It just…wasn't what he was expecting at all.

Shinji, a bartender he worked with at the "Candy Bar," as well as a fashion design student at his college, had made his and Nelliel's outfits for tonight. Nel had insisted on being Ariel from "The Little Mermaid" for Halloween, which Ichigo suspected had been under the urging of Yachiru – who would be going as Bell from "Beauty and the Beast." Nel had told Shinji her plan one night when they had been staying over at Urahara's and the blonde had insisted on making the outfit. When asked what Ichigo would be, since Kisuke had asked all the workers to dress up as well, the aqua-haired child had demanded he be her prince. As cute as that suggestion had been, Ichigo was _not _going to bestrutting around the whole night in some puffy, outdated prince's get-up. After much annoying humming and muttering to himself, Shinji had said he knew 'just the thing.'

The result was a very well-made royal blue jacket with a high collar and gold zipper that stretched the full length of the garment. Plush, white faux-fur lined the cuffs and twin lions had been embroidered in gold, one on each side of the zipper. Between them they held a royal seal depicted cross bones, a crown atop their heads and soft swirls beneath their paws. A gold chain hung from the zipper's clasp and clipped to a zippered pocket on the bottom-left of the jacket. A tiny shield charm hung from its end. Beneath that, Ichigo wore a simple, plain cotton tee, and his legs were adorned with stark white trousers, held up by a thick black belt sporting a silver 'infinity' dragon. Jade-green gloves covered his hands, matching gold embroidery wrapping around their edges in a simple swirling pattern. Black combat boots clad his feet and a fake sabre Shinji had borrowed from the theater department hung from a clip on the left side of his belt, finishing off the look. If Ichigo were being completely honest, he thought he looked rather good. But it still didn't seem very much like a prince's outfit, classic or not. Would anyone even know what he was supposed to be?

When he voiced this question, his blonde friend just laughed. "Oh, who cares? This is supposed to be fun, it doesn't matter if anyone can guess what you are or not. You can be a modern prince, how about that?" Turning back to the girl in his lap, he finished clipping her hair back and whispered loudly in her ear, "Geez, your daddy's such a whiner sometimes."

Ichigo scowled, looking away from the two as Nelliel giggled. "Tch, at least you actually _look_ like a martial arts fighter."

Shinji had constructed his own costume as well, opting for a Chinese-style long-sleeve, black top, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and showing off the bright orange fabric that lined the inside. His shirt also had a high collar, and a line of vertical bar-shaped buttons ran down its front, gold thread trimming out the collar and hem. An orange patch of fabric had been sewn fluidly from the back to the front, making it look like a thin flag was fluttering through a sea of black. Simple, comfy-looking pants matched the top and black slippers covered his feet.

Grumbling under his breath, the orangette directed his attention to Nel, who was talking with Shinji while clutching Kon to her chest.

Ichigo's face softened into a smile at his charge. She looked absolutely adorable. Her pink dress was an exact replica of the one Ariel wore in the movie, though the collar had been taken up to a more modest length for a five-year-old. Shinji had even found some silver hair clips to put in her aqua waves, bring a picture from the movie over and doing Nel's hair. All of the details made her costume perfect.

Hiding a smile, Ichigo turned around and took another look at his outfit. As much as the blonde annoyed him sometimes, he was a great friend. He was a huge gossiper and was _way_ too lewd sometimes, could be fickle and let his temper get away from him, but in the end he always made up for it with his honesty, humor, and genuine concern and support. Plus, the man made superb clothing. It wasn't like he had to make these things for him and Nel, and they weren't the first items he had ever made for them either; and he was sure they wouldn't be the last.

Humming a little to himself, Ichigo smoothed out his jacket and took one last look in the mirror before grinning at his companions.

"So, we ready yet?"

His answer was a resounding "Yes!" as Shinji and Nel hurried to stand up and grab their necessary items before leaving. Chuckling, Ichigo followed them out, hoping it would be a fun night for all of them.

**XOXOXOXO**

Low techno floated through the air as Grimmjow stepped inside The Candy Bar. Rolling his broad shoulders and adjusting his leather jacket, he surveyed the establishment with an excited grin. He had only ever been here a handful of times, simply to see his old mentor, but every time the atmosphere succeeded in creating an almost childlike thrill within him.

_Guess that's kind of what the blondie had in mind though_, he mused as he glanced around the bar.

He had to give Starrk's lover credit, the place had turned out cool as hell. The layout was very open and was actually a lot bigger inside than what one might think from its exterior. Black square tables lined both walls in even intervals, four black chairs surrounding each one. A row of plush black booths sectioned the area in half by running down the center of the establishment, each glossy black tabletop holding a glass circular bowl of assorted hard candies. The walls were a bright lime green with thick black trim running along the top and bottom. Dome-shaped green and yellow lights alternated above each table, casting a bright glow on its occupants. Against the far wall was the actual bar, constructed of shiny marble and painted wood. A row of midnight swivel stools lined the outside of the counter, soft lime-green cushions making up the upholstery. The wall itself had the same paint job as the rest, though it popped with the rows of glass shelves that held container after container of sweet confections, as well as an impressive assortment of liquor.

Every type of alcoholic, candied confection Grimmjow (and many other people) could think of were displayed against that wall. Jelly beans in as many flavors as there were types of vodka were held in glass tubes, the dispensers peeking under the shelf for easy access. Vodka infused gummy bears, lollipops spiked with bourbon, rum, and tequila, Jagermeister licorice, liquor hard candies, alcoholic chocolates, hard ice cream and popsicles, and even more could be found and purchased within the establishment. The bar also served candy-inspired beverages like cotton candy martinis and spiked thin mint milkshakes. Then there were the alcoholic and 'virgin' pastries, for those looking for a bit more substance in their desserts. All in all, it made for a very fun, colorful variety of drinking and eating options.

As he made his way towards the bar, Grimmjow was intercepted by a blond man in what appeared to be a martial arts costume.

"Hello sir, welcome to The Candy Bar. Would you like a table, booth, or bar seat this evening?" the young man chirped.

Grimmjow quirked an amused brow before nodding towards the back wall. "Bar seat, please."

"Sure thing, sir. Follow me!" With that, the man was leading him through the crowded space before gesturing to an empty stool.

"The bartender will be with you in just a moment." The slim man started to turn back towards the entrance, but looked back at Grimmjow with a lopsided grin. "By the way, I love your costume. Very…animalistic." One saucy wink later, the blond had disappeared back into the crowd.

The blunette couldn't help but snicker as he looked over his outfit again. It was actually insanely simple with the black leather jacket, white wifebeater, dark wash jeans, thick belt with a large, silver buckle and black motorcycle boots. He had styled his hair a bit differently though, his blue locks gelled into two soft points towards the back of his head while several stubborn strands fell across his forehead. He was tempted to run his hand through it, as he often did, but consciously kept the action at bay so as not to ruin his styling.

Turning towards the bar, he encountered a very familiar face sporting its own amused grin.

"Well, well. Not much a costume really, Grimmjow, but I have to admit it suits you. You look just like a blue-haired Logan with your hair that way."

A pleased grin overtook the blunette's face as he greeted his long-time friend. "Thanks, though I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out what you are." In truth, he looked like he was wearing the uniform he always wore when he worked here. "Are you supposed to be a bartender?"

Smokey grey eyes brightened in humor as the older man gestured to his outfit. "Isn't it obvious? I'm a host tonight." He answered in mock disappointment.

Grimmjow rolled his eyes even as he smirked at his mentor's antics. The man was indeed wearing what he always wore at the bar; black slacks, a white dress shirt and a matte black vest. The only visible difference was the man's shaggy brown mane was slicked back away from his face instead of hanging limply against his neck.

"Oh, sure, now I see it. So how ya been? And where's Blondie?" Usually the man's partner would come greet him, and they both knew he was coming tonight.

Starrk shrugged, sliding a hot-pink beverage to a girl two seats down from Grimmjow. "Dunno, but I'm sure he'll be over soon enough. Probably just talking to the staff. So, you want your usual?"

Nodding in affirmation, Grimmjow rested his elbows on the countertop as Starrk went about making his favorite cocktail.

"So what you been up to lately? Anything new since the last time I saw ya?" Hell, since it had been about 8 months since his last visit, there ought to be plenty of shit that's happened.

The brunette hummed absently as he grated some orange zest. "Not much really. Just working, hanging out with the kids. Trying to keep Kisuke from being too overbearing and enthusiastic." He winked over at his friend then, passing his chosen beverage. "You know how he can get a bit carried away sometimes."

Grimmjow nodded again as he took his drink, knowing from the few encounters he had experienced with Blondie that the man could be more than a little over-emotional.

The blunette sampled his cocktail, smiling in pleasure at its mild sweetness and the smoothness of the whiskey. It may not fit his appearance, but he loved the taste of Blood and Sand. The mixture of the Scotch and vermouth was exquisite, and Starrk always mixed the right amount of Cherry Heering and orange juice to make it just the right level of sweet. The fresh orange zest also added a subtle punch of citrus the younger man found invigorating.

The door to the kitchen, which was situated in the middle of the back wall, swung open then, revealing the aforementioned blond. Grimmjow almost choked on his drink when he saw the man's outfit, hurriedly setting it on the counter as he laughed loudly.

Kisuke Urahara was a very eccentric man, from what Grimmjow could tell, and how Starrk put up with his constant chatter was a mystery. He was always experimenting and trying new things, which could be both good and bad. The guy also had a very interesting sense of style, which he enjoyed flaunting. Currently, he was dressed in an olive green men's kimono and had a black haori draped over his shoulders. Wooden geta covered his bare feet and his blond head of hair was left in its usual organized chaos.

Upon seeing the blunette, Kisuke grinned and hurried over to the pair, flipping open a paper fan out of nowhere and pecking his lover on the cheek before greeting Grimmjow.

"Grimmjow-kun, how are you? It seems like it's been ages since you stopped by, I think it was around New Year's when we last saw you. Right, Starrk?"

His partner just nodded and grunted softly, moving away from the pair to serve more drinks.

Now that his laughter was under control, Grimmjow sampled a bit more of his cocktail before answering the older man.

"Yeah, sounds about right. Sorry it's been so long. Between work and your guys' crazy schedules, nothing really seemed to work out." Grimmjow wasn't sure how much Starrk had told Kisuke about his previous life, but he always kept his own business on a need-to-know basis. He enjoyed his privacy, thank you very much.

With a gesture behind him, the younger man continued. "But I wouldn't miss this party for the world. You've really outdone yourself, Kisuke."

The blond chuckled and leaned against the bar top, surveying his happy customers that were scattered around the tables and booths. "Yes, Halloween is indeed the best time of year for a candy shop. For a candy bar it's even better!"

Grimmjow laughed again and started to converse with the exuberant man more when the side door leading to the upper level swung open. The words he had been about to say died on his tongue as he took in the sight of a very beautiful – and familiar – young man.

Mile-long legs were concealed by crisp white cotton pants, a slim waist accentuated by an impressive belt that was clasped with a large silver dragon that looped in the infinity symbol; some type of sword also seemed to be clipped to its side. A rich, deep blue jacket fit snuggly against what Grimmjow could tell was a muscular chest and tapered slightly to show off thin hips. Green gloves covered slender hands and white fur hid thin wrists. Most of the man's skin was covered, but the sun-kissed flesh of his youthful face was very visible. Grimmjow had a hard time not drooling over the man's soft angles, straight nose, and defined chin, but those familiar eyes provoked a stirring in the blunette's loins all on their own. The one feature Grimmjow had missed during their first encounter was the most obvious attribute of the young man; his hair. Soft tuffs formed an abstract halo of sunset orange and gold, making it look like Apollo himself had blessed the youth with his fiery mane. Hell, from what Grimmjow was seeing, maybe the sun god had created the vision in front of him entirely.

Yet again, Grimmjow was struck with the urge to learn more about this man, to get to know this stranger that he had run into twice now. So many questions raced through his mind. Who was this guy? Did he work here, and if he did, for how long? How come he had never seen him before? Did he live around here? Was he single?

When those sharp orbs turned to lock with his own, however, only one word popped into Grimmjow's head.

_Damn. _


End file.
